


i said i hated you when really i couldn't stop thinking about you

by makemelovely



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Bisexual Annabeth Chase, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Bisexual Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Pining, Sexuality Crisis, Slow To Update, art ho rachel, the bi trio we all need
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makemelovely/pseuds/makemelovely
Summary: Annabeth's life was perfectly fine. She had her best friend Percy, and an amazing group of friends who were there for her. Rachel Elizabeth Dare didn't fit into her life at all.//or the one where annabeth is a bi mess for another bi mess





	i said i hated you when really i couldn't stop thinking about you

Rachel Elizabeth Dare moves in the middle of Annabeth’s Freshman Year. Annabeth hadn’t heard anything about a new kid, but she also hadn’t been paying any attention to those around her. She had an English quiz on Romeo and Juliet and a History test about the Renaissance. She had almost finished changing into her gym clothes when the locker room door swung open, and a girl with paint on her jeans and bright, curly red hair walked in. She glanced around, and she met Annabeth’s eyes. Annabeth tugged the rest of her shirt down, letting the material brush against her gray bra as it fell down her abdomen. Annabeth felt her cheeks flush, and she turned away. She strode over to Piper who was standing at the mirror examining her hair. Annabeth ripped her ponytail out, frowning as she began gathering it to put it in a new ponytail. “Pipes, what are you doing?” Annabeth asked as she looked at her best female friend from the corner of her eye. She managed to get her thick curls into a high ponytail, and she finished wrapping the band around it as she waited for Piper’s answer.

 

“I’m thinking about cutting it off.” Piper replied, sighing and letting her hand fall. Piper McLean was Annabeth Chase’s best friend since seventh grade. She was the second most important person in her life, second only to Percy Jackson.

 

“Really? Won’t your dad have a cow?” Annabeth inquired lazily. Once Piper had an idea in her head it was impossible to get her to change her mind.

 

Piper abandoned staring at her reflection, turning to look at Annabeth instead. “That’s the point.” Piper said, grinning slyly.

 

Annabeth fondly rolled her eyes, a laugh escaping her mouth. “What am I going to do with you?” Annabeth teased, linking their arms as they strolled out of the locker room. Annabeth briefly caught a glance of Rachel, standing beside Annabeth’s locker and neatly folding her regular clothes inside an empty one. Dread floated across Annabeth’s skin, but she ignored it.

 

“Set me up with Jason Grace?” Piper suggested, shrieking when Annabeth lightly swatted her shoulder. Piper had been pining for Jason ever since she moved to town in the seventh grade. Annabeth could kind of see the appeal. Jason was cute, incredibly so. He had golden hair and electric blue eyes. He was fit and he had tan skin. He was on the football team, and the only physical flaw was the scar on his lip, but that made him look cuter. It was ridiculous. He was clean cut, and it was a major turn on for Piper. Piper herself was a different story. She was messy, and almost sloppy. Her hair was constantly thrown in a messy ponytail, as if she couldn’t be bothered to try and look nice. And if Annabeth was being completely honest, then Piper really couldn’t. She was in her rebellion stage. Piper’s dad was a movie star. Literally. Her mother was a famous model. She had an insanely gorgeous gene pool, not that she wanted it.

 

“No, and stop acting so damn thirsty.” Annabeth teased, grinning as they took their spots. Piper elbowed her swiftly, dancing out of the way of Annabeth’s hand as she took aim to hit her against. Piper stuck her tongue out, shifting in her spot.

 

Annabeth didn’t want to notice, but she couldn’t deny that she knew immediately when the new girl walked in. Rachel was wearing their bland uniform, an orange t-shirt and black gym shorts. “Rachel, glad you could join us!” Mrs. Lawson called out cheerily from her spot by the half setup volleyball net. Annabeth frowned, her gray eyes going flinty. She wasn’t very good at volleyball. She tended to get too competitive. “If you could take your new spot between Ms. Chase and Ms. Daniels, that would be lovely.”

 

Rachel nodded, striding to her spot with a frown on her face. Annabeth’s face twisted with displeasure when Rachel walked by without even acknowledging her. She could at least try to make friends! God, how impolite can you be?

 

Annabeth turned around, taking a step closer to Rachel. “You know, you aren’t going to make any friends with that frown on your face.” Annabeth informed her matter-of-factly.

 

Rachel laughed, but it sounded more incredulous than like she found Annabeth funny. “Perhaps I don’t want to make friends. Did that ever cross your mind?” Rachel raised her eyebrows, something strange flickering in her green eyes.

 

Annabeth’s mouth dropped open, her cheeks flushing red. “You better hope you’re on my team, Dare, because I’m spiking to kill.” Annabeth blurted out, turning away and returning to her assigned spot.

 

Silena Beauregard leaned over, arching an eyebrow in an unasked question. “What was that all about?” Silena asked, twisting the mood ring on her pinkie finger. It had been a gift from her boyfriend Charles. She and Charlie had been dating since seventh grade, and they were Seniors now.

 

“She’s a  _ bitch _ .” Annabeth bites out venomously, ignoring the surprised look from Silena. Annabeth stews in her anger until teams are assigned. Unfortunately for her, and luckily for Rachel, they are on the same team. 

 

Piper grins from the other side of the net, winking and laughing like a fool. “Good luck, babe! I’m gonna destroy you! My team’s gonna crush your team!” Piper giggled, stretching leisurely.

 

“Luck is for losers, so take an extra helping of it! I am going to kill you, McLean.” Annabeth threatened, but she had a goofy smile on her face and she was laughing.

 

Piper was a hundred percent wrong. Her team was terrible at volleyball. Laughably so. Annabeth’s team won easily, and none of them broke a sweat. It was all casual, and fun. The only person who treated it like more than an easy game of volleyball was Annabeth. She played like her life depended on it.

 

“Good game.” Piper grinned before twisting her smile into an exaggerated pout. “I mean, horribly unfair game.” She jested playfully, stretching her hand out and gently slapping Annabeth’s hand.

 

“Wow, Pipes, great sportsmanship.” Annabeth chuckled, sweeping the ends of her ponytail off her shoulder. Annabeth was about to follow Piper into the locker room, when she stopped and turned around. “Hey, Dare!” Annabeth called out, swallowing back the annoyance when Rachel’s face twisted with distaste.  “Good game.” She told her, adjusting the strap of her bra as it began to slide down her shoulder.

 

Rachel’s eyes tracked the movement, her face slowly flushing. She whipped around, grabbing a volleyball and tossing it to Lacey, the other girl chosen to help clean up the gym. Lacey caught it effortlessly, tossing it into the bag. Annabeth paused in the doorway, eyes locked on Rachel’s form. The t-shirt outlined her hips, which were undeniably great. Annabeth’s throat felt dry, and she escaped into the locker room and took a long swig of water from her water bottle.

 

Rachel came in two minutes before the bell was set to ring. She glanced around quickly, and Annabeth ducked her head as she stepped into her jeans, yanking them up her long, tan legs and over her purple underwear. She buttoned them slowly, sure she was imagining how her fingers were shaking and the weight of Rachel’s stare.

 

* * *

 

 

“I totally failed that quiz!” Annabeth complained to Percy, her head resting on her forearms.

 

“If anybody failed the quiz, it was me! I can’t understand anything they’re saying. Literally ever.” Percy whined, pouting. On anybody else it would stupid, but on Percy it was kind of adorable. “What did you get on question seven?” He asked. That was the one he struggled the most with.

 

“I got c.”

 

“Shit!” Percy exclaimed rather loudly as Reyna and Jason approached the table.

 

“Fucked up your English quiz?” Reyna asked bluntly, poking Jason’s bicep. Jason examined her appearance, nodding to let her know that her braid still looked awesome. They were kind of like twins. They could communicate telepathically sometimes, and they were always on the same wavelength with each other. Piper was insanely jealous, not that she’d admit it.

 

“Totally.” Percy answered, while Annabeth said “Definitely.” They glared at each other, as if competing over who fucked it up the most.

 

Piper sat down with a glower, blatantly ignoring Leo who kept trying to apologize. “Beauty Queen, I’m sorry. It was an accident.” That’s when Annabeth noticed the bandage on Piper’s arm.

 

“Leo, what the hell happened?” Annabeth questioned angrily, leaning over the table and grabbing Piper’s arm. She inspected the bandage, lifting it a little only to hiss in sympathy at the bright red, jagged cut on her arm.

 

Leo turned red, and he absently scratched the back of his neck. “There was a minor accident in shop class. I maybe kind of sort of cut Piper with the pointed end of the hammer.” Leo stuttered out quickly, running a hand through his short curls.

 

“You have to be more careful, Leo.” Jason admonished, switching spots with Reyna, who didn’t look too pleased with the new seating arrangement. “Piper could’ve been seriously hurt.”

 

“Hello! I _ was _ seriously hurt!” Piper snapped, yanking her arm out of Annabeth’s grip.

 

Percy suddenly jerked up, grinning broadly and waving a hand around like a maniac. “Rach! Hey, Rach, over here! Come sit with us, we’re over here.” Percy shouted, the remnants of his cheer still in his eyes as he turned to Annabeth. “I made a friend.” He said proudly.

 

Annabeth stared at him in dismay as Rachel Elizabeth Dare wandered over to them, fingers squeezed tight on the plastic red tray. “Hello.” She said cautiously, sitting down by Percy as if she belonged there.

 

Annabeth swallowed her anger, although her fists were clenched tightly. She could feel her nails biting into her skin, but she couldn’t make herself relax. “Rachel, what a pleasure to see you again.” Annabeth spoke up, smiling stiffly while her voice dripped ice. Rachel leaned backwards just the tiniest bit, smiling unsurely at the blonde.

 

“Um, yeah. It’s great to see you again, too.” Rachel lied awkwardly, grabbing a plastic fork and stabbing a piece of lettuce.

 

“Eating salad? How healthy.” Annabeth commented, wise eyes sharply observing everything about Rachel.

 

Rachel swallowed the bite, choking back an annoyed retort. She took a deep breath, and answered. “I’m a vegetarian, actually.”

 

“Oh?” Annabeth leaned forward, arching an eyebrow and smiling a smile that said shark. “Do you lack the discipline to be a vegan, or do you prefer your furs and leathers real?” Annabeth’s eyes glinted cruelly, and her mouth was hardened with harshness. 

 

Rachel rolled her eyes, and took a bite out of a tomato. “I plead the fifth.” She smirked, stabbing her fork into her salad.

 

Annabeth opened her mouth to reply, but Percy cut her off with a warning glare. “So, Rach, how was the bio test?” Annabeth frowned, annoyed by the subtle implication that Rachel was smarter than her. Annabeth was in Physical Science with the other Freshmen. Percy was one of the only kids to get to bypass Physical Science entirely. Sure, Annabeth had been happy for him. He was her best friend after all. It didn't mean she had to be happy for Rachel.

 

Rachel shrugged, reaching up and tucking her red hair behind her ear. Her ears were pierced, Annabeth noticed, eyes fixed on the golden studs adorning Rachel’s ears. “It wasn't too difficult. Number twelve was a bitch though. I totally had to bullshit that question. It was about-”

 

Annabeth turned away then, uninterested in hearing Rachel give a long winded explanation of a biology question. She began chatting with Reyna, whose company she rather enjoyed. It wasn’t until the end of lunch that Annabeth looked at Rachel again. She glanced over at Rachel who was looking at her. Her gray eyes narrowed, and her stomach twisted up in knots at the way her green eyes glinted and the soft curve of her smile.

 

_ Too much soda,  _ Annabeth thought as the bell rang. She tossed her empty can in the trash, dreading her History quiz. The entire quiz she couldn't get Rachel's  _ stupid  _ green eyes out of her head or her  _ infuriating _ smile. She really hoped Rachel didn’t sit with them.

 

* * *

 

 

Rachel sits with them for three weeks, and then on Tuesday she doesn't. Annabeth seethes the entire lunch shift, and only relaxes when Rachel plops down across from Percy, waving away questions with an ‘I had a doctor's appointment’.

 

* * *

 

 

Annabeth hates that Rachel’s good at softball. Like, insanely good. Annabeth has  _ always  _ been the best at any sport in her gym class. She was just athletically inclined. And extremely competitive. Now she was just a pissy teenage girl with a red face and a ruined life. If she wasn’t the best at softball anymore, then what kind of loser was she?

 

To make matters worse, every time Rachel would do something amazing, she’d turn to Annabeth with bright eyes, flushed skin, and a smirk. A goddamn smirk that told Annabeth she was a failure and Rachel knew it.

 

“Y’know,” Annabeth tells Piper one day after striking out because of Rachel's fucking fastball. “She may be good at softball but she’s not that great at, like, anything else.”

 

Piper frowns, glancing up at Annabeth. She’s bent down on one knee to tie her shoelace. “You’re being kind of mean, Annie. Rach is really sweet once you get to know her.”

 

Annabeth’s face twists with disgust. “ _ Rach.  _ You gave her a nickname? Pipes, nicknames are a sacred tradition between friends. Are you two friends now?” Annabeth swallows the jealousy rising in her throat, ignoring the burning in her throat.

 

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Piper asks, rising to her feet. Her elbow brushes against Annabeth’s, and then it moves away. Annabeth wants to chase the warmth, but she quickly dismisses the ridiculous notion.

 

Annabeth answers stiffly, watching resentfully as Rachel strikes Silena out. Not that it's very hard. While Silena looks athletic (slim, well built, slightly muscular) she really isn't. “She’s a little show offy for my taste, but I guess you do you.” Annabeth ignores the slight condescension in her voice.

 

“I think she’s showing off for you, Annie. Do you see how she does something spectacular and then turns to see if you saw? When she catches your eye she always smiles.” Piper tells her, making sure to speak slowly and clearly. She thinks that maybe Rachel likes Annabeth. It would certainly make sense due to the obvious evidence. Rachel’s face falls when Annabeth says something cruel, but the corner of her lips curl up whenever Annabeth says something mean but funny.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Piper!” Annabeth sputters, mouth dropping open and eyes widening comically. She doesn't notice the blush on her cheeks, or the way her lips curl up into a pleased smile as she goes up to bat. Her face softens when she meets Rachel’s eyes, and Rachel's fastball isn't quite that fast. Annabeth’s bat connects with the ball, and Annabeth nods at the redhead.

 

Annabeth mumbles good game to the girl after class. She doesn't notice the way Rachel beams.

 

* * *

 

 

Annabeth still hates Rachel well into February when New York is still unfairly cold. Snow soaks the bottom of Annabeth’s uggs, and she briefly inspects her gray sweater to make sure there are no snowflakes caught on the fabric. She still sneers when Rachel bests her at something, still glares when Rachel says something that Annabeth perceives as a threat. But sometimes Rachel will make a dumb pun and Annabeth will find herself smiling.

 

As she sits down beside the gang during lunch, Rachel turns to her. “You look lovely today.” Rachel compliments her, painfully sincere.

 

Annabeth stares at her dumbly, finds it a little hard to breath. “What?” She chokes out, swallowing roughly.

 

Rachel blushes, fiddles with a hairband on her wrist. Her purple painted nails look nice. Small sparkles in the polish catch the light. “You look pretty today, okay?” Rachel bites out, face red and her voice dripping with aggression.

 

“Oh.” Annabeth says, fingers tightening around her water bottle. “Thanks.” Annabeth adds belatedly as an afterthought. Rachel nods silently, eyes fixed on her still hands. Then she stands, and Annabeth notices the green paint splattered all over her jeans. “What the hell did you do to your jeans?” Annabeth exclaimed, leaning over the table to catch Rachel’s wrist. Her grip tightened unconsciously when she noticed Rachel’s eyes stray to the large cafeteria doors.

 

Rachel flicked her eyes over, a lazy grin spreading across her face. “Careful now, Annabeth. I might think you actually care.” Rachel cautioned. Annabeth huffed, pointedly glancing at Rachel’s seat. “I got paint on them.” She explained, sliding back into her seat. Annabeth lingered for a moment, silently marvling in the feel of Rachel’s soft skin. She reveled in the heat of Rachel’s skin, and she didn't want to pull away. Of course she did move eventually. She  _ hated  _ Rachel. No way she could be so buddy-buddy with her.

 

“Obviously. I can see.” Annabeth responded dryly, arching an eyebrow.

 

“Would you like a more in-depth explanation?” Rachel inquired.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Aw!” Rachel spread her hand across her heart, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “Annabeth Chase actually  _ wants  _ to hear me talk! I thought the day would never come.” Rachel spoke theatrically, using broad gestures as she spoke.

 

“If you don't start talking then it never will.” Annabeth warned, forcing her smile down.

 

Rachel leaned back a little, swallowing sharply and gripping the table quickly. Annabeth had to use all the will in her body to keep from smirking at Rachel’s almost fall. “I was up early this morning because I couldn’t get this image out of my head. I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and got to painting. I didn’t realize what a mess I made until it was time for gym and then I spent the first few minutes of changing out in the bathroom washing my hands. Then I was getting lectured by our gym teacher about punctuality so I was late to my next period because I then had to change out after everybody left. So that’s the story of my green jeans.” Rachel smirked proudly at that last phrase.

 

“You’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Annabeth rolled her eyes, waving to Percy who darted through the doors.

 

“Guess who just kissed Leo?” Percy gushed, grabbing an apple from Annabeth who opened her mouth to protest before thinking better of it and closing her mouth.

 

“Gandhi?” Rachel jested jokingly, grabbing a package of crackers from her bag and a bottle of Pepsi which she handed over to Percy.

 

Percy scrunched up his face in a scowl. “No! It was that foreign exchange student Khione. She just walked right up to him and planted one on him! The second she pulled away and left, he collapsed against the lockers and began spouting Shakespeare. His english teacher heard him, and she’s making him audition for the school play as Romeo! It’s an extra credit assignment for him. Can you believe it?” Percy pouted, but there was still joy in his eyes. He was still clearly celebrating his friend’s good fortune.

 

“No.” Annabeth wrinkled her nose in distaste, and okay, a tiny bit of concern. Rachel’s eyebrows crinkled together in confusion, and Annabeth wondered if Percy thought she looked cute like that. “Leo, skinny elf with, like, double the ADD anybody has ever had, and dyslexia on  _ top  _ of that, is going to be Romeo? Do you know how many lines he’s going to have to memorize, and the way it’s written? A lot.” Annabeth shared, idly picking at her cheeseburger.

 

“A fuck ton.” Rachel piped in helpfully, smirking and waggling her fingers at an annoyed Annabeth.

 

Percy chewed on the inside of his cheek, and Annabeth found herself smiling fondly at her dork. “I didn't think about that.” Percy complained, running a hand through his messy hair.

 

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a head of kelp. It isn't your fault, Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth’s calculating eyes lit up at the new nickname, the corner of her pink lips turning up into a smirk. “You were born that way.”

 

“Yeah, uh well, you’re a, you’re a-” His eyebrows furrowed before his expression cleared, his whole face brightening as he came up with an insult that tossed itself from his mouth. “Wise Girl.” He finished smugly, a triumphant gleam in his eyes before realization set in and his face fell. “Damn it.” He muttered, face burning red. Annabeth giggled, pressing her forehead against Percy’s shoulder as she shook from the giggles consuming her.

 

“Yeah, Perce, you really screwed the pooch on that one.” Rachel commented lightly, something lurking in her green eyes. Annabeth stopped laughing.

 

* * *

 

 

The year passes quickly into homework and A’s on that one History assignment that she totally knew she’d ace. It goes like this: Percy looks at Annabeth  _ and  _ Rachel who looks at Percy which makes Annabeth mad because she keeps glaring at Rachel who isn’t noticing.

 

It goes like this: Annabeth still hates Rachel with something strong and sharp in her gut, tugging fiercely in the pit of her stomach when her face softens and Rachel looks pretty and witty and funny and lovely in ways Annabeth can’t be.

 

Annabeth wears sweaters a lot until it gets too warm. Then she wears jeans and t-shirts and then shorts and t-shirts and every day she wonders what Rachel will wear.

 

She thinks about Rachel a lot. She thinks about how Rachel’s smile turns a little wary when Luke wanders by, clasping his hand on Annabeth’s shoulder and grinning like they’re old buddies which they kind of are. Luke used to babysit her. He and Thalia but- no, she can’t think about that. Won’t think about it anymore. You can’t dwell on the past. Luke stops by, tan and grinning and  _ warm.  _ Annabeth remembers how in love with him she used to be, blushing but stoic when he would come around and play Stratego on lonely Friday nights when her parents had date night. Rachel looks at him through the narrowed eyes of an outsider and says “I don’t trust. Bad vibes, you know?” and everybody looks at her a little funny because it’s  _ Luke _ , y’know? Everybody grew up with him just on the outer orbit of their world. What’s worse is that Annabeth trusts her judgement subconsciously, apparently. The next time Luke rests his hand on her shoulder, she stiffens and swallows back the shock of it. After all, it’s  _ Luke.  _ Friendly neighborhood Luke. Luke who Rachel doesn’t trust. And really, is Rachel’s judgement totally sound? She wears one of those expensive art hoe backpacks. The yellow one that isn’t the brightest shade so Annabeth doesn’t really hate it but, like, really? And, okay, worst of all? Rachel pulls off the art hoe aesthetic really well. She wears these like vintage clothes from the eighties and nineties and whereas Annabeth would look dumb, Rachel looks super cute in them. She even looks cute painted silver like she did for that one protest or with her jeans all splattered in paint like she was struck with inspiration and was just so consumed by it that she didn’t have time to think or change or anything.

 

So yeah, she thinks about Rachel a lot, but only because she hates her. Hates her curly red hair, and bright green eyes, and dumb paint splattered jeans, and dumb freckles all over her porcelain skin.

 

She thinks about Rachel a lot because maybe in another universe they could be friends.

 

Actually, no. That’s a dumb idea.

 

* * *

 

 

“Finals suck.” Annabeth declares, dropping into her spot beside Percy.

 

“Did bad on your Health final, huh?” Percy hummed sympathetically, showing her a screenshot of his grades which made Annabeth wince and hiss in sympathy and also mild horror.

 

“I missed eight and now my final grade is an A minus. My GPA is totally fucked.” Annabeth complained, missing the eye rolls from practically the whole table.

 

“Annabeth, babe, that’s not bad.” Piper chimed in, reaching over and placing a hand over Annabeth’s. Annabeth squealed, jerking her hand back as Piper’s cold metal charm bracelet touched Annabeth’s skin. She blushed, but glowered enough to get the amused looks of the table’s faces.

 

“Yes it is! Every time your grade goes down, it’s bad!” Annabeth argued, a little hurt that nobody understood what she was getting at.

 

Piper started talking and then Percy chimed in and then eventually everyone was talking over everyone else. Annabeth sighed, glancing around at her friends. Her eyes met Rachel’s. A pause in which all the air is sucked out of the room. “I understood.” Rachel offered sincerely, smiling. Annabeth smiles back, a mere twitch of her lips that causes Rachel’s whole face to glow with happiness. To fix that, Annabeth rolls her eyes and frowns a tad forcefully at her. Rachel just continues to beam.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I've tried to publish this three fucking time jfc. also that one paragraph where Annabeth gay rambles tho.


End file.
